From the responsorial psalm: “You, O LORD, abide forever, and your name through all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to pity her. For her stones are dear to your servants, and her dust moves them to pity. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30)
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Today’s Gospel follows immediately after yesterday’s reading, where Jesus praises the Father for revealing to little ones the mysteries of the God’s kingdom, which the wise and the learned fail to comprehend. His invitation to take rest in him is extended to all, yet the connection between the two readings suggests that those who hold childlike trust in the Lord would readily find rest in welcoming his presence throughout the ups and downs of each day. The yoke that Jesus offers is not abandonment of one’s responsibilities but his constant willingness to share in our burdens as he remains beside us.
God, as I see the day ahead give me the grace to put aside my cares about every little detail. Help me be attentive to the ways you guide me in, aware that you are with me. In the first reading, Isaiah recognizes the limitations of human effort, what we can and cannot achieve. “Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,” Isaiah says, “the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.” Strengthen my confidence, Lord; you know what I need. It is you I long for even when I am not aware of it; help me today call to mind the invitation of Jesus to take his yoke upon me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.